Landlords are legally obliged to lodge a tenant's bond to the government within 23 days of receiving it. In my case, it's been much longer and Tenancy have confirmed there's nothing under my name. I'll speak to the landlord regarding this. I was also told one could claim exemplary damages. Doing that would be sure to dent my relationship with the landlord, but curious to know if anyone's done that and how much they've been awarded?

No, that misses the point. If you get a bank cheque, they take your cash immediately. If the landlord doesn't bank it, it's just gone forever. If you make a personal cheque out to Tenancy Services, they either don't bank it - in which case, you have paid nothing - or it goes to Tenancy Services, where it was supposed to.

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These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.